It was a win, but not a pretty one. That's the sentiment of Elphinstone Cougars coach Mike Sopow following his team's 74-70 win over the Chatelech Eagles in Gibsons on Wednesday afternoon Jan. 20.
As the Cougars set their sights on loftier goals - the North Shore league playoffs - Sopow said his team is not in top form, and although Chat played a hard-fought game, battling the Cougars shot for shot, he feels his team needs to play better if they want to achieve playoff success.
"It was a disappointing win. Our team's definitely out of sync right now," Sopow said. "We know we need to step up our game if we want to do well in playoffs. We've forgotten what it takes to win."
Elphi got off to a fast start against the Eagles, scoring the first five points and controlling play most of the opening quarter leading 17-10. But Chat reversed that trend in the second, playing tighter defence, forcing Elphi into tougher shots. Chat found their outside shooting, outscoring Elphi 24-13 in the quarter to lead a 34-30 at half-time.
The third quarter was a battle of attrition with neither team able to hit a shot in the first few minutes. Chat continued with its strong defensive play; however, Elphi managed to break through late, going on a 6-0 run to tie the score at 47. But with the game clock winding down, Chat's Qasim Khan threw up a near half-court desperation shot at the buzzer that fell to put the Eagles up by three.
That shot seemed to energize both teams, as the scoring went back and forth in the first five minutes of the fourth. Elphi began to wear down the Eagles inside as the quarter wore on, with the tandem of Dolf Vermeulen and Mackie Gregory combining for 22 of Elphi's 27 points in the quarter. Elphi regained the lead for the first time since the opening frame with less than four minutes to play and held on for the win.
Dolf and Mackie each finished with 25 points, while Brendan Hussey had 21 and Connor Weatherston added 20 to pace the Eagles.
"Hopefully this has been an eye-opening experience, and the boys will realize how hard we're going to have to work if we want to match our earlier season success," added Sopow.
For his part, interim Chat coach John Brisebois, filling in for regular coach Sean Smith who was on vacation, felt the Eagles did themselves proud, playing at a high intensity.
"I think they are on the cusp of becoming one of the great teams in our school district," Brisebois said. "It was a really hard-fought game by two teams that have very different styles. Elphi has a tough inside game and we have more of an outside game. To step in to a fairly aggressive gym with lots of tradition, they played well above my expectations."
In other action last week, Chat lost 71-48 to Bodwell on Jan. 18. The Eagles have one league game left on Feb. 2 against Seycove.
Elphi was at Kitsilano last weekend for a tournament where they went 0-3. All three games were close, but the Cougars lacked consistency. The Cougars also dropped a 70-63 decision to Howe Sound from Squamish on Tuesday night in an exhibition game as they await their first round playoff opponent.
